Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean Studies,
I am appealing the Faculty's decision that I must withdraw from Queen's for a minimum of three years. My reason for appealing the Faculty's decision is because of extenuating circumstances beyond my control that have prevented me from performing well and being in good academic standing.
This past year has been difficult as my mother, sister, and I had to deal with the effects of my dad leaving us. Through their separation proceedings had discovered the depths of my dad's secrets as it was revealed that my dad was in massive debt. With my mother not speaking much English and me having to be a translator for her in all the lawyer's paperwork, this took a toll on me as I was actively involved in my parent's awful legal battle. I had discovered that there was a court ordered execution registered against my dad and the house, so creditors could take what they are owed. When my dad became difficult, he would threaten us with filing for bankruptcy and allow for the creditors to take our home and leave us on the streets. As the school year came around, I truly did try my best to focus on school. I followed my academic plan in that I was retaking courses that I failed or received a low grade and took a lighter course load each semester. I reached out to my friends for help and we would study together, and they would listen to my family problems when I felt anxious. Although, every time I picked up a phone call from my Mom there was trouble at home. I am a compassionate person and will always have a strong bond with my mom and sister which is why I did a lot of travelling this year to be home to support them. With my sister being rebellious and my mom needing help, I was travelling from Kingston to Ottawa almost every single weekend. The travelling was what I believe to be a major issue in my academic performance. On the weekends, I was helping my mom with running her business, keeping an eye on my sister, and doing the house chores. I realized that I never gave enough time to myself to study or complete assignments. In certain cases, I was too wrapped up in my family life in Ottawa that I would not submit an assignment. Or, I would be too exhausted from travelling back and forth that I would not attend my classes resulting in my falling behind instantly. Around late October, my mom had realized that money was running short for the family expenses as the household income had been cut in half with my dad's absence. My mom strongly felt that in order for us to survive, we would need to make a business investment and prepare to move out of Ottawa as she could no longer bear living in Ottawa alone with no family. It was then that my mom decided to buy a nail salon with her life savings in Montreal (her hometown) and we would prepare to move there. When we took over the nail salon in Montreal, it slowly became apparent that it was draining our money fast and not bringing money in. Every month, my mom had to put in an extra 3,000 of her own into the Montreal salon in order to pay for the rent as its income was not cutting even. We were losing money fast and I was stressed and worried. I could not handle the anxiety and would feel the pressure to take things upon myself to go to Montreal and manage the store myself. Or, I would travel back home to Ottawa to run the Ottawa store while my mom and sister went to Montreal. The added stress of the Montreal store became difficult for me to focus on my courses and catch up on what I was behind on. I could not focus on school when I saw that my family life was falling apart right in front of me and I could not just sit back in Kingston. I felt the need to take action and take my dad's place. Towards the April final exam, I was under great pressure to try and salvage my courses. I was so stressed out that I was hospitalized because of stress, neck pain, and completely blurriness in my eyes.
Should an appeal of the Faculty's decision be granted, I plan on achieving academic success through my academic plan. As this past year I faced situational demands of family emergencies and legal battle, by the end of this summer, the demands will be greatly diminished. My uncle now works and is in charge of the Montreal store as a manager and thus, I will no longer need to travel to Montreal to work. As well, my parent's final separation agreement will be signed and done with by the end of this summer and my family matters will be cleared up. In the future, should the situational demands arise again, I will have to be more organized in my schoolwork and not fall behind. Thus, I intend to attend more workshops and meet with learning strategists early on from week 1 of school to get me on track. I plan on seeking help by booking appointments with the Student Wellness Services Centres for personal and academic counselling. I believe that the main reason for me not asking for help this past academic year was because I was afraid of being judged. I had an unfortunate encounter with an academic counsellor that left me in tears and depressed. She had told me to give up and drop out which left me with the impression that no one was here to help. In reflecting upon my mistakes, the problems that I encountered was simply neglecting school, falling too far behind that it was impossible for me to catch up with the coursework, and the wrong choice in courses. In order to prepare academically, I will be choosing courses that are more appealing to me in order to boost my GPA. I plan to meet with a career counsellor to rethink my degree plan as I believe my attempt in Politics courses to be accepted into a Politics degree might not be what is best suited for me. I plan to explore art history as an option as that was my highest final mark because I was genuinely interested in the course material. During the year, I attended a Kaplan test preparation seminar where I realized that a tutor once a week will be the best option for me. To have someone keep me in check and create a weekly study plan with me will make me more responsible with my academics and not neglect it like before. I am certain that I will be able to raise my GPA as I am currently retaking a GPHY101 which I failed in the fall and I will be retaking a deferred exam for GPHY247 in the fall.
I am appealing the Faculty's decision that I must withdraw from Queen's for a minimum of three years. My reason for appealing the Faculty's decision is because of extenuating circumstances beyond my control that have prevented me from performing well and being in good academic standing.
This past year has been difficult as my mother, sister, and I had to deal with the effects of my dad leaving us. Through their separation proceedings had discovered the depths of my dad's secrets as it was revealed that my dad was in massive debt. With my mother not speaking much English and me having to be a translator for her in all the lawyer's paperwork, this took a toll on me as I was actively involved in my parent's awful legal battle. I had discovered that there was a court ordered execution registered against my dad and the house, so creditors could take what they are owed. When my dad became difficult, he would threaten us with filing for bankruptcy and allow for the creditors to take our home and leave us on the streets. As the school year came around, I truly did try my best to focus on school. I followed my academic plan in that I was retaking courses that I failed or received a low grade and took a lighter course load each semester. I reached out to my friends for help and we would study together, and they would listen to my family problems when I felt anxious. Although, every time I picked up a phone call from my Mom there was trouble at home. I am a compassionate person and will always have a strong bond with my mom and sister which is why I did a lot of travelling this year to be home to support them. With my sister being rebellious and my mom needing help, I was travelling from Kingston to Ottawa almost every single weekend. The travelling was what I believe to be a major issue in my academic performance. On the weekends, I was helping my mom with running her business, keeping an eye on my sister, and doing the house chores. I realized that I never gave enough time to myself to study or complete assignments. In certain cases, I was too wrapped up in my family life in Ottawa that I would not submit an assignment. Or, I would be too exhausted from travelling back and forth that I would not attend my classes resulting in my falling behind instantly. Around late October, my mom had realized that money was running short for the family expenses as the household income had been cut in half with my dad's absence. My mom strongly felt that in order for us to survive, we would need to make a business investment and prepare to move out of Ottawa as she could no longer bear living in Ottawa alone with no family. It was then that my mom decided to buy a nail salon with her life savings in Montreal (her hometown) and we would prepare to move there. When we took over the nail salon in Montreal, it slowly became apparent that it was draining our money fast and not bringing money in. Every month, my mom had to put in an extra 3,000 of her own into the Montreal salon in order to pay for the rent as its income was not cutting even. We were losing money fast and I was stressed and worried. I could not handle the anxiety and would feel the pressure to take things upon myself to go to Montreal and manage the store myself. Or, I would travel back home to Ottawa to run the Ottawa store while my mom and sister went to Montreal. The added stress of the Montreal store became difficult for me to focus on my courses and catch up on what I was behind on. I could not focus on school when I saw that my family life was falling apart right in front of me and I could not just sit back in Kingston. I felt the need to take action and take my dad's place. Towards the April final exam, I was under great pressure to try and salvage my courses. I was so stressed out that I was hospitalized because of stress, neck pain, and completely blurriness in my eyes.
Should an appeal of the Faculty's decision be granted, I plan on achieving academic success through my academic plan. As this past year I faced situational demands of family emergencies and legal battle, by the end of this summer, the demands will be greatly diminished. My uncle now works and is in charge of the Montreal store as a manager and thus, I will no longer need to travel to Montreal to work. As well, my parent's final separation agreement will be signed and done with by the end of this summer and my family matters will be cleared up. In the future, should the situational demands arise again, I will have to be more organized in my schoolwork and not fall behind. Thus, I intend to attend more workshops and meet with learning strategists early on from week 1 of school to get me on track. I plan on seeking help by booking appointments with the Student Wellness Services Centres for personal and academic counselling. I believe that the main reason for me not asking for help this past academic year was because I was afraid of being judged. I had an unfortunate encounter with an academic counsellor that left me in tears and depressed. She had told me to give up and drop out which left me with the impression that no one was here to help. In reflecting upon my mistakes, the problems that I encountered was simply neglecting school, falling too far behind that it was impossible for me to catch up with the coursework, and the wrong choice in courses. In order to prepare academically, I will be choosing courses that are more appealing to me in order to boost my GPA. I plan to meet with a career counsellor to rethink my degree plan as I believe my attempt in Politics courses to be accepted into a Politics degree might not be what is best suited for me. I plan to explore art history as an option as that was my highest final mark because I was genuinely interested in the course material. During the year, I attended a Kaplan test preparation seminar where I realized that a tutor once a week will be the best option for me. To have someone keep me in check and create a weekly study plan with me will make me more responsible with my academics and not neglect it like before. I am certain that I will be able to raise my GPA as I am currently retaking a GPHY101 which I failed in the fall and I will be retaking a deferred exam for GPHY247 in the fall.